Hot Dogs
by xiao chan
Summary: Derek attempts to explain the facts of life to his three year old daughter...and ends up failing miserably. Just a one-shot, MerDer fluff!


**Hot Dogs**

"Ellie?" Derek noticed the pucker formed around his three-year-old daughter's lips as he gently scrubbed her back. "Ellie, what's wrong?"

She looked up at her father with wide, gray-green eyes, the same hue that belonged to her mother. Then she turned her gaze downward on her tiny body with a contemplating stare, a feat that seemed much too precocious for a child her age. "Daddy? Is it true that Travis has a hot dog in between his legs?"

Derek choked on a snicker in the back of his throat. "W-what?" he asked in slight shock and amusement.

"Mary was making fun of Travis this morning," Ellie began with a small frown. "Travis had to go pee-pee, so he went in the bushes and Mary saw. Then she started screaming 'cuz she said he had a hot dog in between his legs and the pee-pee was coming out of it. And Travis was angry because Mary was looking and she told me."

Derek struggled to contain his laughter. If Mrs. Garber would faint if she knew her son peed in the bushes next to the playground.

"That wasn't very nice of Mary to make fun of Travis for that," he finally answered, when he was sure the chuckles were under control. "He was probably already embarrassed."

"But is it true?" she insisted. "Does Travis really have a hot dog in between his legs?"

"Uh…" Derek paused. "W-well…I…it's not exactly…"

Ellie tilted her head to the side and stared at her father with an inquisitive frown.

"It…" _Gah, Meredith! Where are you when I need you?_ "It just looks like a hot dog."

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

Derek nodded, wishing desperately that his wife were here. She would have been able to explain it much more satisfactorily.

Ellie looked down at her body once more. Then she placed her feet wide apart in the tub and dropped her head in between her knees. "Do I have one?" she asked as she inspected the area in question.

Derek immediately caught her by the shoulders and brought her back to a standing position before she slipped in the sudsy tub. "No, sweetie, you don't have one."

She frowned. "How do you know? What if it's just really small? Mary said Travis' was really small! That's why he got all embarrassed."

"But she still saw it," he pointed out. "Can you see if you have one?"

She looked back down again and her face fell. "No," she admitted sadly.

Derek hated seeing his daughter sad. "Don't worry, Ell-Bell," he said with a wide grin. "When you get big, you'll grow one too."

The frown on her face immediately melted into a huge grin. "Really? Yay!"

When Ellie was completely clean, Derek dressed her and combed through her wet, black curls. He was finishing up when the sound of the front door opening signaled Meredith's return.

"Mommy!" she shouted. She jumped off the bathroom counter and raced downstairs to greet her mother, her father not far behind.

"Mommy, guess what!" Ellie shouted as she threw her arms around Meredith's leg. "Guess what?"

Dr. Grey-Shepherd chuckled as she bent forward to scoop her daughter into her arms. "What, Ell-Bell?"

"Daddy says that when I get big, I'll grow a hot dog in between my legs, just like Travis Garber!"

Meredith raised an eyebrow at her suddenly sheepish husband. "He did, did he?"

"Yeah!" the tiny girl shouted. Then she whipped her head around to stare wide-eyed at her father. "Hey, Daddy, when I grow my hot dog, will it be bigger or smaller than Travis'?"

"What would you rather it be?" he asked.

"I want it to be bigger!" she shouted. "Then I can make Travis jealous!"

"Well, if you want a bigger hot dog than Travis, you'll have to eat all your vegetables, _including_ your celery."

The little girl made a face. "Really?"

"Honey, how about you go water your flowers by the window?" Meredith suggested as she set Ellie down on the ground.

"Okay, Mommy!" Then she rushed off on her miniscule legs to find her red plastic watering can.

When she was out of the room, Meredith turned once again to her husband. Her delicate, dark blonde eyebrows were raised in a very questioning expression. "Hot dog?"

Derek grinned widely, knowing his wife was incapable of staying annoyed with him when he smiled like that. "She was so disappointed when she saw that she didn't have one. I couldn't say no to that little face."

She shook her head. "What am I going to do with you?"

He smirked and stepped closer to wrap her in his arms. "Whatever you want." Then he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her very slowly. They had been married for over five years, but the burning kisses had still not changed.

When he pulled away, Meredith grinned widely. "I think I can see _your_ hot dog."

"I bet you can."

**A/N - So I was reading a manga that had pretty much the most fantastic line EVER and thus this story was born. Please show a little one-shot love!**


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